Thanks to Becca for the idea - I decided for our Enrichment Night this month to focus on our mental & physical health with New Year's resolutions and all. We had President Hatch in our stake, who is the clinical director of Valley Mental Health, speak on depression, stress and anxiety. For the physical aspect, Richelle Lund who has trained NBA, WNBA and Olympians came (thank you Ashley). I thought I'd share some of the interesting things I learned.
From Pres. Hatch:
The highest spike of people at our emergency room is at 5:30pm on Sundays. Who is coming in? Relief Society sisters with symptoms that are related to mental health issues. That shocked me. A large part of depression, stress & anxiety in our lives is because we are comparing our "worst" self with someone's "best"self.
He emphasized the need for positive thinking with these tips:
- Thought Stopping - when a negetive thought comes in, verbally say "STOP"
- Schedule Worry Time - set a day and time frame that you'll allow yourself to worry about what ever it is that's bothering you...thus when you stop a thought you can tell yourself that you'll worry about it at this specific time...and then move on.
- Three Good Things - every day find three things that are good, regardless of how small or simple they may be.
Have a Balanced Life (Mosiah 4:27). Remember the conference talk "Good, Better, Best" - read it again! Sometimes we need to get rid of good things in our lives because we are getting to much going one and it's okay to let somethings go. The need for Peace and Quiet - find it!
From Richelle Lund:
- I loved her rule of thumb "would I feed this to my two year old?"
- Eat breakfast
- Eat every three hours-1 protein and 1 good carb
- You can't eat enough vegetables
- Fruits are better in the morning and eating it is better than drinking it (apple is better than apple juice, etc.)
- Butter or Margarine? In it's form - the harder the better.
- Cheese? The softer the better (think Mozzerella) - melting cheddar doesn't count :)
- Eating honey from where you live (there are some great Utah honey makers) builds your immune system.
- Weight lifting and aerobic together are the best way to lose weight.
- When working on your upper or lower body start with the largest muscles first.
- To know how many pounds you should be lifting? The last two reps should be hard.
- Before any workout do your abs first since we tend to neglect them after a workout.
So that is what I learned last night - I hope you learned something to! Here's to a healthy and happy 2009!!!
